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Featured Blogger of the Month: The Grey Nomad Blog

Ahh, September! It’s not really my favorite month, but it’s the title of my favorite go-to song when I’m feeling down – September by Earth Wind & Fire. You do know it, don’t you? Please don’t disappoint me!

Anyway, welcome back to my Featured Blogger of the Month series! We’re on to our 4th one and I’m really excited to reveal this month’s featured… wait for it… bloggers. Yes, it’s a duo! I met them when I worked for an event company a month back and tapped their shoulder for a possible work opportunity. But I believe I’ve already been seeing their Instagram posts from way back if I’m not mistaken. And I’m pretty sure some of you already follow them online.

So anyway, let’s get to it! Introducing:

The Grey Nomad Blog

What are your names?

Kyra Yu and Reg Villanueva

What is your blog called?

The Grey Nomad Blog

Tell us more about your blog.

We write about anything related to food and travel. We particularly like to shed light on places and products that not too many people know about, but we feel deserve so much more exposure and recognition than they get.

We also enjoy providing helpful tips based on personal experiences for people who may be planning to visit certain countries or cities to make their stay more worthwhile.

We make it a point to add a personal touch to every article we release, by including the who, what, when, how, and why of almost everything that we write about.

For the logo, you can see a ven diagram, with 2 different colored circles. This symbolizes how both of us are complete opposites. Like us, there is one area where we meet though and that represents our common love for food and travel.

Tell us more about the persons behind your blog.

Reg:

I love multitasking. Which is why aside from the blog, I’m leading the Analytics team of a Digital Marketing agency in Manila and running my own DIY food kit business. Since I’m busy most of the time, my greatest hobby would have to be catching up on some rest and sleep.

Kyra:

I am a preschool teacher and tutor. I enjoy my job because it’s something different every single day. I am not the type of person who likes to get stuck on routines. I enjoy new experiences and constantly crave for adventure. On my free time, aside from eating and traveling, I also enjoy playing my instruments or jamming with my siblings or close friends.

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When did you start blogging and why?

We started blogging late February this year. You know how sometimes there are places or activities that you really want to try out, but don’t, because you’re afraid of being let down? Well, this is why we write. So that people can read about honest, true to life experiences that will lead them to no longer being afraid of taking risks. After all, it really is comforting to find out if places are worth going to before making a trip to try them out.

We can’t even count the number of times that we have been afraid of trying [things] in the past and this has led to many missed opportunities and tiny regrets – things that we don’t want others to feel.

We also started writing because whenever we’d hang out, we would notice how we would always critique every detail of the food that we’d order or places we’d travel to. This is why most of our friends encouraged us to make a blog. So that we can put all of our thoughts into writing.

We want people to experience the same happiness that we get from eating and traveling. We write about local and international destinations, but really like writing about local travel spots more.

This is because it’s our home and we just think that the Philippines is such a beautiful place. We know that there’s so much to see and do just a few hours away from Manila but not everyone is aware of that.

This is why we try to travel and share stories whenever we can. To surprise people.

We also want to point out that spending more does not always equate to having better experiences because we do a ton of budget trips and they are equally as fun. We highlight this in our articles too.

What do you think makes your blog unique from other blogs?

Aside from just talking about the food we try or the places we go to, we also make it a point to know and share the stories behind them.

We give our own honest feedback and points for improvement if ever we find any.

We like to highlight places that are not so known but deserve to be recognized.

We don’t just write about things because they are Instagramable or well known. We care more about the quality of our actual experiences and share that with our readers.

Why? Because at the end of the day, that’s what really matters. That’s what people are going to remember or look for when they try the same things out. How it was for them.

We really write to help others out. We want them to have the same of even better experiences than the ones that we have.

We are no longer afraid of making mistakes during our trips because we can write about them after to make sure that others will not do the same.

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Who are your inspirations when it comes to blogging?

We are more inspired by the stories that we encounter whenever we go on adventures together. Blogging has really allowed us to meet so many people from different backgrounds and walks of life, who have allowed us to see the world so differently. Whatever we hear from them usually motivates us to continue doing what we’re doing and gives us an extra push to further our passions in life.

Blogging has its up and downs, highs and lows. What is your number one advice for fellow bloggers to ‘survive’ in the blogosphere?

Just work hard, be true to who you are, be patient and things will eventually start to pay off. Your work will eventually radiate for others to see and notice.

What are your goals for your blog?

We dream of having better tools and gadgets for our blog like cameras, drones, laptops, etc. But for where we see our blog years from now, hopefully, we’ll have a bigger audience but still be true to who we are.

Any blog recommendations for your fellow bloggers/readers?

How can we reach you?

Lastly, any tips for new bloggers?

Your blog doesn’t become big immediately unless you are already an influential person with a big following audience. It takes time and a lot of hard work. Just be patient, keep writing and doing what you love and eventually, you’ll get bigger and better. The opportunities will come your way. Just don’t give up.

Bae’s notes:

What I love about this is the sincerity of their answers. I could really feel their eagerness in sharing their knowledge on travels and food particularly. I’d say that’s a major similarity between us – what inspires me to blog is my freedom to inform people. At the end of the day (or a long blog post), I only want them to achieve one thing: to learn. Inspiring, educating, encouraging them is just the bonus. As long as they’re getting something useful from me, then I’m good.

Aside from that, these two are incredibly sweet humans. I talk to Reg more most of the time and in between those short chats, I’m sure we’ve already built some sort of rapport with each other. I would honestly love working with them in the future. But where that will bring us, we’ll find out. 😉